JoinBuild Your Professional Network
By sstuckey
Posted on 2015-10-01
In this video, columnist Ben Smith shares information from the Science 2.0 column, “Build Your Professional Network,” that appeared in a recent issue of The Science Teacher. Read the article here: Build Your Professional Network
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxgIKB6WIuM&list=PL2pHc_BEFW2LU1a1jgiLNu4NABGw1Zx-Y&index=66[/youtube]
In this video, columnist Ben Smith shares information from the Science 2.0 column, “Build Your Professional Network,” that appeared in a recent issue of The Science Teacher. Read the article here: Build Your Professional Network
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxgIKB6WIuM&list=PL2pHc_BEFW2LU1a1jgiLNu4NABGw1Zx-Y&index=66[/youtube]
Successful STEM Reform: Leadership Is Key
By Guest Blogger
Posted on 2015-09-30
A recent Education Week blog post entitled “STEM Reforms in Needy Schools Eroded Quickly” painted a disappointing picture of STEM education reform. In this post, part 1 of a 2-part series* from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), Dr. Cary Sneider (Associate Research Professor at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon) responds.
Schools have a great deal of momentum. They are very difficult to change—especially if just one part of the system is changed without taking into account interactions with other parts of the system. Approving systemic changes to accommodate STEM reform takes political will and therefore support from top educational leaders. Although I don’t know the details of these particular schools, support from top leaders may be a common thread for the problems identified in the report. For example:
Schedule conflicts: The report mentioned scheduling nightmares when guidance counselors tried to fit new STEM courses into existing core requirements. It seems obvious that it would not be possible to incorporate new STEM courses without appropriate modifications to core requirements. The root cause of such a conflict must lie with the people who make policy decisions. If they support STEM reform then they will change the rules to allow it; if they don’t they will block the necessary changes.
State accountability tests: We set an impossible goal when we ask teachers to implement new teaching methods with new goals, and hold them accountable for their students to perform at a high level on the old assessments. New performance-based assessments, consistent with new STEM standards have not yet been developed in any state, and until they are educational leaders should not use inappropriate measures to judge teachers and students.
Personnel changes: The report mentions that courses like physiology and robotics were advertised to students and never actually offered. There could be many reasons why such problems occur (or in this case didn’t occur,) but whatever the reason, teachers were not in a position to offer those courses. Since the deployment of staff to teach various courses is a function of administration, it is likely that these courses did not have sufficient support from the top.
Successful STEM reform addresses these issues from the start. Sneider will be discussing the systemic approach required for educational change on November 7 in the NSTA Virtual Conference Shifting to Integrated STEM: Experiences of Three School Districts. Sneider explains that changing educational systems requires a willingness to examine—and if necessary change—existing policies. He and his co-presenters will give several examples in which systemic changes have brought about significant improvements in STEM teaching and learning. They will also discuss what it takes to implement such changes, including the absolute requirement of support by top leaders. Learn more and register. Register early by Friday, October 9, and save $10 off your registration fee: Use promo code NOV_SAVE10.
Dr. Cary Sneider is Associate Research Professor at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches courses in research methodology in a Master of Science Teaching degree program.
Read Part 2 of this series: 3 Key Ingredients for Successful STEM Implementation: Trust, Collaboration, and Innovative Thinking
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
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The PASCO Bluetooth Spectrometer: Even Isaac Newton would flip over the power of this digital prism!
By Martin Horejsi
Posted on 2015-09-30
The PASCO Wireless Spectrometer
This trio of teachers, two from China and one from Mongolia have limited English speaking skills, but instantly understood the iPad app and PASCO Wireless Spectrometer. Seems that light is also a universal language.
An ultraviolet light spikes the graph just outside the shortest wavelength we can see with our eyes.
Isaac Newton
Roger Bacon
Claudius Ptolemy
Aristotle
enty of room left over to inspect rarely explored specimens of light scattered throughout our lives.
A portable studio light is used to provide a background of predictable photons in order to explore the absorbance properties of various types of matter including sunglasses, polarizers, fabric, and theater lighting filters.
- Absorbance and transmittance spectra
- Beer’s Law: concentration and absorbance
- Kinetics
- Fluorescence
- Photosynthesis with DPIP
- Absorption spectra of plant pigments
- Concentration of proteins in solution
- Rate of enzyme-catalyzed reactions
- Growth of cell cultures
- Light intensity across the visible spectrum
- Emission spectra of light sources
- Match known spectra with references
The PASCO Wireless Spectrometer
The "E" in STEM
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2015-09-29
Teaching a “STEM” class or curriculum means addressing each letter in the acronym. In a rigorous STEM curriculum, those four areas of teaching and student learning—Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics—will be observable every day.
Technology
The technology piece may be the easiest to incorporate because the technologies for writing and drawing have been staples in teaching young children for a long time. Children document their observations and thinking with their drawings and writing. Some programs fully integrate newer technologies such as cameras, computers, and easily portable devices for recording and documenting. “Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8,” is a joint position statement issued by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College.
Mathematics
Early Childhood Mathematics: Promoting Good Beginnings, the 2010 joint position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), describes high quality mathematics education.
Science
The National Science Teachers Association’s (NSTA) position statement on Early Childhood Science Education was endorsed by NAEYC in 2014. The principals and declarations clarify how to teach science concepts and topics.
Engineering
Early childhood teachers need professional development to prepare to teach engineering concepts. The American Society for Engineering Education describes professional development that addresses the fundamental nature, content and practices of engineering.
Guides such as STEM Sprouts Teaching Guide by the Boston Children’s Museum and the MA Board of Education’s Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences provide direction for intentionally including engineering teaching.
Learn how preschool teachers in Hartford, Connecticut implemented a unit on the topic of Building Structures (Chalufour and Worth 2004) in mixed-age classrooms of three-, four-, and five-year-old students, in “Gimme an E! Seven strategies for supporting the “E” in young children’s STEM learning” by Cynthia Hoisington and Jeff Winokur. This article in the September 2015 Science and Children describes how instructors and coaches in the professional development program Cultivating Young Scientists facilitated teachers’ preparation of the environment by planning space, materials, and time for building explorations. Hoisington and Winokur emphasize that preschool teachers need opportunities to participate in and reflect on their own collaborative building explorations. So grab a set of blocks, try building a tower and then reflect on how to build a better tower. Write some productive prompts to use when children build structures, to invite them to raise questions, and identify, address, and solve building challenges.
Teaching a “STEM” class or curriculum means addressing each letter in the acronym. In a rigorous STEM curriculum, those four areas of teaching and student learning—Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics—will be observable every day.
Technology
Mentoring a colleague
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2015-09-29
My principal asked me as the science department chair if I could help one of our new teachers. From the beginning, she’s having issues with classroom management and organization. I’m willing to do what I can to help her, and she is open to this help. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do? —L., Rhode Island
If your school does not have a formal mentoring program, it seems like you can create your own plan. As a mentor you can be a role model, a good listener, a provider of feedback, a source of suggestions and resources, a shoulder to lean on, and someone with whom to bounce around ideas. As a colleague, you’ll want to be helpful but not judgmental or evaluative.
Even successful student teachers can get a rude awakening in their first year on their own, when they are responsible for their classes from the beginning. They don’t have the advantage of stepping into an established situation, in terms of setting up a classroom, lab equipment inventories, safety procedures, and routines. She may be trying to learn new content, and if she has more than one subject to prepare for, it can be overwhelming.
You could start with an informal conversation. “I understand that you have some challenges with classroom management. This happens to everyone. I had some real difficulties, too.” She may not realize that even experienced teachers face new situations every year, so it may help to share some of your own current challenges and how you’re working on them.
If possible, it would be good if you could observe this teacher—informally, of course. In addition to watching the teacher, consider what the students are (or are not) doing and how the classroom is set up. You could ask questions as discussion starters: What worked well for you when you were student teaching? What are your greatest challenges? What do you think about…? Did you notice today when…? Have you ever considered…? Her responses and your observations could be the start of an action plan.
In addition to your suggestions, social media would also be a good way for her to get new ideas.
From my mentor, I learned that the most important part of classroom management is having routines in place. This frees up time for more important topics and activities, rather than dealing with discipline or logistic issues. Ask what routines she has in place for the beginning and end of the class period or when students transition between activities. These are the prime times for disruptions, and it is important for students to be engaged and to know what is expected of them. Share some suggestions and resources for routines that work for you, ask her to try them for a week or two, and debrief on the results.
A lot of class time can be spent accessing materials and getting started on activities. You could suggest she
- Have a tray for each lab group to make it easier to organize and count materials and make sure everything is in place for the next class.
- Assign seats, lab groups, and roles for lab group members to lessen the time-consuming drama of students deciding where to sit or with whom to work.
- Designate where to turn in assignments and equipment and label everything, including the shelves or tables to organize materials students need during class.
- Color-code as a way to organize materials for different classes or subjects.
If classroom management and organization are concerns, you should also ask her about safety issues and how she deals with students who are disruptive and off-task during labs. Share with her what you have found effective.
It also could be helpful for her to observe other science teachers with the goal of understanding how they organize their students, learning time, and class materials. Since the school year has started, it will take some time and effort to “reboot” and introduce new routines. If her classes are out of control, you could suggest she postpone labs with safety concerns until students are up to speed on the new routines and understand the importance of safety.
Some of your suggestions would be second nature to a veteran teacher, but to a novice they can be life savers!
Feel free to share and discuss some previous Ms. Mentor blogs on topics such as
- Channeling Student Enthusiasm
- Classroom Seating Arrangements
- Struggling With Paperwork
- Bell-to-bell Learning
- Connecting with Students
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjlook/7152722/sizes/s/in/photostream/
My principal asked me as the science department chair if I could help one of our new teachers. From the beginning, she’s having issues with classroom management and organization. I’m willing to do what I can to help her, and she is open to this help. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do? —L., Rhode Island
#NSTA15 Area Conferences on Science Education: Bloggers Wanted
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Posted on 2015-09-26
Planning to attend one of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) area conferences on science education this fall? If so, consider writing or making a video about your experience. What do you get out of it? Our gratitude, admiration from your peers, and an #NSTA15 conference tweetshirt!*
The votes have been tallied and the winning tweetshirt is:
We love to see the conferences through the eyes of attendees. Below are a few of our favorites from earlier conferences. Read them to get a sense of what’s in store for you if you attend, and get inspired to blog/vlog yourself!
- Hashtag WORTH IT
- A View of #NSTA15 from Down Under
- NSTA14 Boston Conference Summary
- Building NGSS Capacity at #NSTA15
- It’s All About the Hashtag for @2footgiraffe
- #NSTA15 | Your Science Teaching Superpower
- #NSTA14 Long Beach Stories
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
NSTA Conferences on Science Education
2015 Area Conferences
2015 Fall NGSS Workshops
2015 Virtual Conference
2016 National Conference
2016 STEM Forum & Expo
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*While supplies last, shirts will be given to bloggers ONSITE ONLY at our 2015 area conferences on science education. Bloggers: Tweet your blog/vlog title and link, tag it #NSTA15, and then come to the #askNSTA booth in the Exhibit Hall in the convention center to claim your shirt.
House Speaker Boehner Resigns, What Now for No Child Left Behind?
By Jodi Peterson
Posted on 2015-09-25
On Friday, September 25, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner resigned from Congress effective at the end of October.
This action caught everyone by surprise. With the Republican party in flux, the pundits are debating what will become of the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind in the aftermath of Boehner’s resignation (read more here), with many calling the ESEA rewrite “toast.” It will be harder for Rep. Kline, who is also retiring at the end of 2016, to get the support necessary to get a conferenced bill acceptable to the White House thru the House of Representatives.
Boehner, one of the original four architects of the original No Child Left Behind legislation (Rep. Boehner, former Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and former Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.) supported the House ESEA bill, the Student Success Act (HR 5), and is a proponent of voucher programs.
Expect much more in the weeks ahead as lawmakers debate the end of the fiscal year (and a possible government shutdown) as this story continues to develop.
NSTA and NCTM Call on Congress
The National Council of Mathematics and NSTA sent a letter to House and Senate appropriations leaders last week, calling on them to accept the Senate funding level of $141,299,000 for the Department of Education Title II B program as they negotiate FY 2016 funding for federal education programs (read the letter here).
The funding for this program, and other federal education programs, will be at stake in the next few weeks as Congressional leaders finalize a FY16 budget; strategies include shutting down the federal government on Oct. 1 if they cannot come to an agreement on a budget bill for the fiscal year. Read more.
Jodi Peterson is Assistant Executive Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Chair of the STEM Education Coalition. e-mail Jodi at jpeterson@nsta.org; follow her on Twitter at @stemedadvocate.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
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